And Time Stood Still
by SlinkyT
Summary: In this world, nobody dared reveal what the watches meant to children, that was a parent's job.
1. And Time Stood Still

AN: So, I was reading something and somebody was like writing a note to their future boyfriend and they said, "I wish I just had a timer that counted down to the moment I am going to meet you." And this one shot resulted because of that. Not sure what I was thinking but..eh. It's done and over with. Hope you like it.

EDIT: Okay, so I want to continue this...but I'm not sure how to. It's like..oops..trololol...their soul mates, let's give myself an excuse to write all the fluff in the world. If you want to see more of this, please review or message me about what exactly you would want to see with this fic... :) Thanks so much!

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><p>There was this heavy weight on Mike's wrist. It had been placed there from birth. It was a watch of sorts, but not only did it read the time. It counted down and for the longest time he didn't know what it was for. Did it count down to his death? A birthday? When he would graduate? But he never received an answer, not for a while anyway and so he would look at the watch, the seconds ticking away and his being getting closer to this unknown event. It didn't make sense to him, how it could be so important. That is until he was twelve and his parents sat down with him.<p>

"Son, we've decided it's time to tell you about your watch," still filled with childish excitement, his eyes widened and he nodded furiously. In this world, nobody dared reveal what the watches meant to children, that was a parent's job. His mom walked off for a moment, leaving the father and son in an anxious silence and when she returned she had two watches that looked exactly like Mike's and exactly like everybody else's in the world.

"Michael, this watch was your father's," he scrunched his small brow in confusion, as this meant it wasn't his death it was counting down to, and for that he was relieved. He knew it was important, though. Why else would they keep the watches. He had never taken the time to notice his parents never had them on, it just didn't seem important. "What's the time say on that? And the date?" She asked even though she already knew the answer.

"4:32 P.M. December 3." He replied after looked at the small square by the hands of the clock, and it was not December. And it was not four, nowhere near that actually. The timer that was on it was at all zeros, like it had already run out for his father. She nodded and a warm smile came over her features before handing him the other watch. He was still highly confused, but he would find out soon enough.

"Now, this one is mine. What does that one say?" She said and he examined it as well—Wait. No, that couldn't be right. His Dad's watch had stopped but, no…

"Mom, this one says the same time, but that doesn't make any sense." He said holding a watch in each hand, eyes flickering back and forth between the two faces, looking at how the minute and hour hand rested at exactly the same spot, not a fraction of a hair off. It was now his father's turn to speak.

"Son, when everybody is born, they get a watch that counts down to the day they are to meet their…soul mate, I guess you could call it. Some people have tried to rig it, to where they keep talking to a person until the exact time of their meeting, but the end result is always inevitable." Wait. So, whenever the timer runs out for Mike—which was in 3 years, 4 months, 3 days, 6 hours and 8 minutes-then he was magically supposed to meet this person. The thought didn't seem to make sense, like his fate was already predetermined and he didn't know whether to feel scared or comforted by that idea.

"Wait so…December 3? That's when, you and Mom met?" He asked, directing the question at his father who just nodded and laughed softly, a longing glance at his wife as if silently recalling that day.

"Yes, and the hands on those watches haven't move a millimeter since." Mike looked back to the identical faces and then to his own watch.

"So, what if I find the person before then?" He asked quietly, curiosity getting the better of him.

"You don't." His mother simply replied and without anymore question he nodded his head.

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><p><strong>3 years, 4 months, 3 days, 6 hours, and 7 minutes later.<strong>

Mike and Tina stood in the halls at McKinley, first day of high school, smiling and laughing next to the lockers that seemed so much bigger than them. He messed with her by poking her in the side to which she giggled softly and poked him back. It was almost a never-ending game. Mike had been nervous lately, his time was approaching, he knew it, but he always thought there might be an exception for him. That Tina was supposed to be his other half, because he really liked her, and she was pretty, but he couldn't read the face on her watch and neither could she on his.

When he asked his father he replied that watches can only be read by everybody when they've already stopped. Mike didn't question it, he just got used to it.

They were messing around and it was almost time to get to class, in fact they should be on their way, but they were busy caught up with each other. In a rush of pure joy, Mike took the plunge. He leaned close to Tina and kissed her, both of them stayed absolutely still. It was their first kiss in the empty hallways of McKinley High and both were grinning goofily when they finally broke apart.

"I should probably get to class," Tina whispered and looked shyly up at him.

_20 seconds._

"See you around, T." He said casually and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. Maybe it was from his happiness that he'd forgot to check his watch lately, or maybe it was because he didn't care. He couldn't control it, so why try to?

_10 seconds._

She walked off, turning the corner right by them and he was on the verge of bursting into laughter and he had lost all sense of his watch, of time, of where he was.

_5 seconds._

He closed his eyes, walking backwards with arms out and just wanted to yell at the top of his lungs exactly how perfect he felt at this moment. Little did he know…

_4 seconds._

Each step brought him closer to the inevitable, like his father said, but he was too distracted to notice.

_3 seconds._

He opened his eyes and sighed, completely content at the moment.

_2 seconds._

He spun on his heel and he took one step in the direction of his classroom.

_1 second._

And then…

_O seconds._

From the girl's bathroom beside him that he had not even been aware off, a girl walked out, running into him and catching him off guard, causing him to fall to the ground. He caught himself and when he looked around books and papers that were not his were scattered on the floor and his eyes widened. Without looking up he began apologizing profusely.

"Oh, I'm so, so, sorry. I guess I just…wasn't paying attention and…" He gathered papers, stacking them evenly while using the tile to even them out. "I'm so sorry." She had been in shock, too out of it to do anything and when he stood up, finally looking at her it was like the world was put on pause.

He took in each feature, her big brown eyes that looked like they could hug a person, or hot chocolate or something. Her hair delicately framed her face and laid over her shoulders in a flowing pattern. A sweater graced her frame, an animal on the front and she was wearing a plaid skirt, knee highs, and flats. She was small, already much smaller than him and he was estimated to grow more, but it was cute. In fact, she was beautiful. Probably the most beautiful person he had ever laid his eyes on. Wait, who was Tina again? It was like his lips tingled, but not from the kiss he had just encountered, but for another that he had not yet received.

She looked at the boy in front of her. Tall, handsome, and muscled. He was obviously kind as he had picked up her things for her and he must have been an athlete to have the kind of tone did. He looked like he should be popular, but she had no idea if he was or not and she certainly wasn't going to ask. His hair was dark, as well as his eyes and she just wanted to look at them forever if given the chance.

He handed over her books and she took them in one arm, her face of shock turning into a smile.

"I…thank you," she nodded and looked down at her heels, clicked them together like maybe that would get her out of this awkward situation with the handsome boy she had never met. She stuttered over her words. "Well, I, uhh…the bell already rang. So, we should probably get to class." She said softly and looked down at her watch, wanting to look at the time but something was wrong. The minute hand didn't move and it—

It had stopped.

Her watch had actually stopped.

She quickly looked up at him, heart pounding hard as she met his eyes, his warm eyes that seemed to greet her and say, "Hello, I've been waiting for you." And she blinked, like maybe she was going to cry out of sheer joy and he panicked, reaching out a hand to her arm.

"Hey, hey, are you okay?" He asked comfortingly and his thumb that was on her upper arm moved gently, slowly and she looked down at it, seeing the watch on his wrist and she could barely make out the face, but it was there. She could read the watch and the time was now and—

"Your watch," she whispered and watched it instead of him. He raised an eyebrow in confusion and pulled his hand back from her, eyes dropping to his wrist. He eyed it for a minute before figuring the problem, if you would even call it that. He swallowed nervously and he blinked extra slowly, giving him more time to think.

"Oh, I, uh, woah." He mumbled quietly and ran a finger over the face, just to check to make sure nothing had damaged it. She looked at him examining his watch and she smiled softly at how his eyes looked concentrated as if he were trying to meet a goal or something.

"Right. Umm, hey. My name is Mike Chang." He stated simply and she smiled, feeling her heart skip a beat, or had it stopped altogether? Either way, it was scary and amazing and something she'd never felt before.

"Hello, nice to meet you Mike Chang. My name is Rachel Berry."


	2. Just a Kiss

AN: I'm giving this a shot since a few people wanted more. I only have one more idea for a chapter really, and it's like a way future one, so this is just an attempt to maybe get some more development on this. Hope you enjoy and if you don't mind, do review and tell me what you liked or what I could improve on. (: Still not 100% sure if I'm going to continue after this but for now I'll leave it as a WIP (:

Also, these chapters are guaranteed to be shorter than the ones in my other story and there may only be like...five. So, just a warning. :)

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><p>Mike got a note in his locker from Rachel about two days later. It stated how meeting him was the best thing that could have ever happened to her, and to meet her at the library that afternoon. It was odd, how such a monumental thing didn't seem to effect anybody around them and it was like this big secret, a huge discovery in their lives but it had to be kept quiet. Maybe not had to, but they preferred it that way. They kept the watches on, but used every effort to cover them, with simple positioning of hands, or the tugging down on the sleeve of a long sleeve shirt. And though nobody else knew, he would meet her eyes across this all and they would both smile. It was simple and easy, and sometimes they would just start laughing, like they couldn't be happier in the world.<p>

Not much had changed when he thought about it, she was just another component to his life. Tina was the first he told, he told her everything and even though she knew it was inevitable, she had thought maybe she would have a few years, maybe just months to be with him. If only she had been able to see the face of his watch then maybe she wouldn't have kissed him right when he'd shown up after school that day.

It was taboo to talk about the watches, but everybody had their opinions. There were just a few rules applied straight across the board, another being that nobody else needed to know how much time you had left until you met your other half. It wasn't necessarily illegal, but it was very much frowned upon and one was not respected by the general public after committing such an act. Which is why nobody ever did.

The watches were like an arranged marriage almost, except your parents didn't pick.

It was something bigger than that. An indescribable force.

Some like to think it has to do with the amount of testosterone or estrogen in the paired man and woman. As well as the fact that the contributing pheromones and chemical balances prove that, such as in other species, your mate, that is one of the soul variety, is only that because their genetic code and yours would have the maximum chance of producing offspring with attractive genes and positive survival rates. In other words: You were born to have sex and then die. That idea comforted most people.

Others liked to believe it was more emotional than that, which for the most part it is. Their defense being that everybody would be jumping each other like rabbits if it wasn't. And that's not to say events similar don't go down in their bedrooms, it was just not the main focus or vital fragment of the relationship.

And then there were extremists on both ends of the spectrum.

The people who believed that their life holds no meaning until they have found their soul mate. Coincidentally, the people with that system of beliefs are one and the same with the people who weren't productive for the first 25-30 years of their life, seeing as their predetermined fate knew they were going to be a lazy bum and the soul mate part doesn't kick in until that state in life when they decide to get off their ass.

Apart from that is the idea of magnets. Yes magnets. Microscopic, computer programmed magnets that are implanted below the skin of one's wrist, such as the place where one's watch would belong. It's there since the moment of birth according to this section of the population and the timer on the watch is merely a technologically calculated time at which the magnet would be charged to its full potential due to the blood that surrounds it. You blood contains a certain extent of electromagnetism and coincidentally a vital artery runs right across the wrist, that specific one being the radial artery. These conspiracy theorists believe that each mates heart beats generally at the same rate, averaging out to the same amount of liters pumped within the same amount of time. And to them, that means the charge would increase at relatively the same rate. It supports the idea that one day you are physically pulled, not in a way you can feel, to the other magnet that is your equivalent and that only you are programmed to be attracted to. Unlikely. These were the people whose scientific facts were most skewed, but needed some sort of substantial reasoning behind all of it.

At times it felt like the world's axis spun on the conditional and unconditionally ideas of love. Whether that be shrapnel or reproduction was up to the population's discretion. Up until now Mike and Rachel had never had to face those kinds of skeptics because the theory of the watch had been nothing more than a strap and a face on their wrist. And now their priorities were different.

"First things first, Michael. I believe we should meet each other's parents." Rachel stated simply in the library that afternoon, pulling out a short list that was scrawled in her neat handwriting on a piece of notebook paper.

"Wait, what?" He responded immediately. "I just met **you. And now I'm supposed to meet your parents?" For a teenage boy that was just a little overwhelming. "Oh, and you can call me Mike." He corrected her and she just shrugged.**

"**I prefer Michael." She stated simply and though he wanted to be annoyed, she smiled sweetly and that seemed to strip him of that ability. "Oh, wait," she murmured to herself, eyes trailing down the list, a crease in her forehead forming as she concentrated. "I missed a part." And her eyes widened and her face relaxed as she must have caught the thing on her agenda. "A very important part." She said simply to which Mike responded with a raised eyebrow and a questioning look around the back area of the library, like something was supposed to happen next.**

"**You're supposed to kiss me now." She stated simply, a serious expression and her eyes locked on his own. Mike was in a daze for all of one second.**

"**Woah, woah. Hold on. Kiss you?" He asked leaning forward across the table and voice dropping to a whisper. "I've only ever kissed one girl before. And I don't even know your middle name. I don't know anything about you." He looked concerned, worried for her health if she thought that made any sense.**

"**Barbra." She said simply with a proud grin, even though he still looked confused. "Rachel Barbra Berry. That's my full name." She continued, as if that should have been obvious in the first place. "Your's?" She asked with wide eyes.**

"**Michael Andrew Chang," he replied with ease, like his lips had been trained and prepared for the day he would have to spout if off to her. Her eyes brightened, a twinkle in them, like a light bulb had gone off.**

"**Great, now that, that is out of the way," she said and he realized what he'd said and how she had taken the literal meaning of his statement. **

"**No. No. This doesn't mean I'm going to kiss you now," he stated and sat upright holding his hands out in front of him. She sighed heavily.**

"**Fine, if you're going to be difficult about it." She pushed her chair out and walked around the table that was littered with books and assignments she had already been working on. She put her hands on his shoulders and turned them to face her and before he could realizing what was happening, her lips were covering his. **

**His eyes widened in shock, though her's were closed, lips puckered exaggeratedly and when she pulled away with a smile he couldn't help but laugh at her attempt to kiss him. Her face changed from that of proud to disappointed.**

"**What? What is it?" She asked, worried she had done something wrong.**

"**Nothing, I just…that's what you consider kissing?" He laughed and she dropped her face and her cheeks blushed a deep red. She put one foot over the other, nervously rocking on her feet. She mumbled something and looked up at him to see his reaction, though he had not heard her.**

"**What?"**

"**I said. That was my…" and once more, her voice dropped low to where he couldn't make out what she was saying."**

"**What are you even saying?" He asked with a slight playfulness, though she just got flustered and said to him in an angry, low whisper.**

"**I said, that was my first kiss!" She burst and then let out a small squeak, jumping back as though she had shocked herself with her own reaction. He stood up and carefully looked at her, like maybe she was joking and when her eyebrows raised in expectance, waiting for a response, it seemed to click in his head.**

"**Wait, you're serious?" He asked, acting as if he knew all, though his first kiss had only been days later. Even so, it was much better than one of those awkward pecks like she had just attempted. She nodded shyly and looked up at him. He smiled back.**

**He didn't know exactly the moment he was going to kiss her. He just knew that he decided he was going to, which was more than enough for him to lean down, a finger going under her chin and lifting it up. Her eyes flickered down to his lips that looked so much better from this view and suddenly he was nervous.**

**He took another step to her and licked his lips the slightest bit as his mouth was going dry. Her lips met his in a spark and just like his kiss with Tina, he didn't move. He just stayed, slightly parted lips pressing together softly and as she hadn't seen it coming, her lips were relaxed and unmoving against his as well. She reached her hand up to hold the wrist of his hand that had lifted her face just lightly. When he pulled away they both held goofy, childish grins on their faces.**

"**I think I'll count that one instead." She stated simply, reaching her hand to grab his, interlacing their fingers simply.**


	3. The Princess and the Jester

A/N: Huge time jump, hope you don't mind! Also, there will be one more chapter and it will have an even larger time jump soo..I REALLY hope you don't mind. If you like it, please review. If you don't like it, feel free to tell me that as well. Anyway, that's all I have to say here so. Enjoy!

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><p>"Do you know how they work?" Rachel asked softly, looking at the sky that was littered with random stars. How constellations existed, she didn't know, because it looked like somebody just had a box of little white things and tossed them up there. Like there was no rhyme or reason.<p>

'No, not at all." he answered honestly. It had been two years since he met Rachel, two whole years of getting to learn all about his soul mate and finding out that maybe your soul mate isn't somebody you expect. Their personalities clashed, a lot. And even though they never officially said they were dating, nights like tonight made him wish they official, just for the sake of the label. All their friends had boyfriends and girlfriends and you know what they had? Soul mates. And it sounded so serious, like they were supposed to be planning their life together, settling down, not looking at the stars on a Saturday, worried about how close her arm is. About how he could feel it brushing against his own when she shifted, but didn't dare to grab her hand.

They'd only kissed twice after their first shared kiss. One "accidentally" he claimed on her birthday last year. Her friends and family had finished singing for her, she blew out the candles and then looked over at him. She looked so immensely happy, he really couldn't help himself, and the blush she acquired afterwards only made him want to continue. But, they had a lifetime to kiss, they decided, so they wanted to do things right and surprisingly, for a teenage boy, Mike was okay with that.

"Do you think anybody will every figure out?" She asked another question he certainly didn't have an answer to, but this was like a game they played. He was just here to listen to her doubts and worries and instead of in lecture form it was questions upon questions about life, and herself, and their inevitable future.

"I don't know." Once more, an honest answer, but he felt like there was more. "And now it was his turn to ask questions. "Are we supposed to figure out? Is it supposed to make sense to us? Aren't there things we just aren't supposed to, or don't need to understand?" It was now her turn to reply.

"I don't know," and glancing over at her, under the stars, he could see her smile shining brightly, as if the fact that she got to be on his end was so much better than the other way. It was small things like that, that assured him the watches were right.

He shifted, the grass rustling the slightest bit and she looked over at him and noticed his eyes, the way they had been trained on her, it was with so much care and so much…love. Overwhelmed she looked back up to the sky.

"You know, Quinn's watch still hasn't stopped. Even with everything with Puck and her baby…I always thought that's how it should work." Mike nodded, but baby didn't mean love, he had come to realize. Baby didn't mean forever and baby certainly didn't mean a healthy relationship, as Quinn and Puck had their ups and downs more than any other couple he'd seen and even though Beth needed a father, Puck's watch nor Quinn's watch had stopped for each other. Sure, if he wanted to, he could be there for now, but the idea that somebody would eventually replace him…Mike had no clue how that felt. He didn't want to ever feel that way.

"Have you ever thought that maybe the watches don't mean we're supposed to grow up and marry each other? Or fall in love or something? Maybe we're just supposed to be best friends." At that suggestion he though for a moment. Could you really find your soul mate, the person that was supposed to be in your life forever and not want to marry them? Was that physically, emotionally possible? Your soul mate is your perfect match, not only on the physical aspect but everything else as well was supposed to fall in place around you. Why separate more than necessary? Mike wasn't a religious guy, but at that moment he prayed. He prayed to the stars that she wasn't talking about them, that she meant for everybody else to live that way, because he knew for a fact he couldn't. Every part of Rachel was appealing to him. Literally, and if that didn't mean something, he didn't know what to think about…life, anymore.

"Maybe." He assured her, as there was always still that chance, that small part of unpredictable things that nobody could really expect. And with that was the one person who probably had expected it all along. Before she knew what was happening his hand was around her's and a heat shot up her arm and comforting warmth spread over her chest. This was who was always supposed to be in her life. Be it her best friend, boyfriend, husband, he would be there. And that was the only thing she was for sure of.

"Hey, bear?" She asked softly, using a nickname she had developed for him. He was taller than her and cuddly and he always seemed warm, so she decided on bear. She moved over closer to him, messing up her hair in the process, she was sure of that, but not caring because she knew that he didn't.

"Yes?" He replied just as quietly, like tone louder than that might break the glass that incased this situation.

"What do you think is going to happen to us?" She said quietly, not feeling nearly close enough, so she moved over, sort of getting on top of him and crossing her arms on his chest, chin resting on her arms. She liked this much better, being able to meet his eyes and yet, still feel the warmth of his arms around her.

"Well," he started and his arms naturally made his way around her, keeping her close, in a simple way. It was almost like a hug, but much warmer and so much easier than any action he could remember. "I'll remind you this is based purely on my prediction." She nodded with a smile, already having a thought about where this was going. Mike liked to tell outrageous stories, to make her smile and she could only believe that this would result in a similar response.

"Seeing as you are the prettiest girl in all the land," he started. "You will most likely become queen, maybe princess so you don't have to do any work and you can hang out with the jester all day." he winked and she giggled, blushing and hiding her eyes by burying her face to his chest behind her arms. "Everybody who passes the princess will by in awe of her splendor!" He gushed and she shook her head now, embarrassed by his extremely ridiculous story, that somehow made those butterflies in her stomach flutter.

"Well, the jester, that's me, he'll be the luckiest guy on the planet. You want to know why?" She looked up and he swore he heard a muttered, "Why?" In response. "Well, because he gets the princess, you see. Even though it doesn't make sense sometimes, because he's not worthy of her, and way below her, somehow she always wants to be with him." He could see her smiling, the darkness causing her features to stand out more prominently when his eyes trained on them.

"Even if it's just hanging out at the top of one of the towers, looking at the stars, making her laugh, because that's what he's really good at. Or singing and playing piano, reading, or even riding horses," he grinned and that once more elicited a laugh from her. "Well, I think that's how it always will be, until she becomes queen and has her own prince or princess to take care of," he pointed out. "If, she ever has a prince or princess."

"You think the jester and the princess end up together in the end?" She asked softly, moving forward to bury her heard next to his neck, letting her arms move away. He ran his hand up and down her back gently and could feel her breath against his skin as well as his own chest rising and falling.

"I think they do. In fact, I think they live happily ever after."

So, that night it changed to they had kissed three times since their first kiss.

What difference did one more make?

And there was their mindset for weeks upon weeks. Well, it's just one more kiss, it's been a couple days since the last time we did. What's the big deal if I use my tongue now? And they increasingly became more comfortable with that aspect. Kissing didn't seem like something they should put off, or save, anymore. It was something they savored and took advantage of while they had the time.

Needless to say, Mike asked Rachel to be his girlfriend. And through a fit of giggles; she said yes.


	4. Do You Love Me?

AN: I stole the idea from Fiddler on the Roof "Do You Love Me?" Eh? You know? You know. Anyway, yeah. I'm not sure if it turned out how I wanted it to and this is the last chapter of this small story, but I have big plans for the future Cherry-wise because I've recently got interested in a new AU. Yup, more AU stuff. Anyway, enjoy.

Also, if you've got a minute, please review, it's helps with better work in the future. (:

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><p>"I'm your soul mate, Michael. Don't be silly." She said and rolled her eyes while pulling clothes out of the dryer and putting them in a basket, him leaning up against the door frame of the laundry room, watching her.<p>

"Right, right, because some gears and a watch told you that. It didn't tell you to love me." He said seriously and stood up straight, walking over to her.

"You're being ridiculous." She said simply and pushed past him out the door to their room, sitting the basket down and she began folding.

"I'm being serious, Rach." He said with furrowed brow and yet his concern seemed to go unnoticed by her. She looked over at him and then back to the laundry basket after short sigh. It wasn't really a big problem that he was talking about; love. It didn't need to be discussed, after so long together was it really necessary to have to say it? It was just always a known fact and she was sure the words had been exchanged. She did love him, didn't she? He walked up behind her and put his arms around her waist, playfully resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Don't make me sing now," he said and she emitted a soft laugh as he pouted and placed a playful peck on the juncture between her shoulder and her neck.

"Michael, please, I'm trying to do laundry." She said and reached a hand behind her to push against his shoulder, trying to get him to drop the topic and leave her to do what she needed to.

"And I'm trying to get a straight answer," he quipped reaching past her arms to grab a shirt and fold it in front of her. With a frustrated sigh, she crossed her arms and watched. His hands already couldn't make the motions when she wasn't a hindrance, but now they seemed to fumble even more as he was distracted by how close she was. Since he couldn't seem to do it just right, she reached her hands out and placed it on his, slowing down his actions and showing him like she would a child how to match up the seams. He dropped his hands back to her waist as she put that article of clothing in the pile.

"Do you love me?" He whispered right next to her ear and she felt her cheeks flush, her heartbeat quicken and her knees practically weaken at his voice, just like in high school, it was always the little things that caught her attention about him.

"Michael, I-" she started and turned around in his arms, looking up at him. "I'm sure we told each other that we do," she reassured him, wondering why he needed the validation now, when they already been together for so long, of course the words must have been exchanged. The fact that he'd taken the time to think about it worried her. Her mind reeled, thinking about all the days she'd spent with him and she remembered using the word love. But more for like, "Ohmygoodness, Michael, I love those flats, I have to get them," to which he would, of course, give in. Most of their statements to each other were, "You'll have me forever." or repeating their wedding vows, or in the case of high school, saying them prematurely, "Til death do us part." The fact that she couldn't recall a specific time was a little unsettling, but it had to have happened. He leaned down as if he were going to kiss her, eyes closed, lips parted just slightly to persuade her to say those words and she ducked out of his arms, grabbed the laundry basket and slid it over on the bed, getting back to the task at hand.

"Do I love you?" She said mocking his question with a small laugh and a shake of her head at how ridiculous this entire conversation was.

"Well?" He asked, retaking his place behind her as she now folded a towel. "You've certainly never told me before," he stated simply and to that she threw down the material that she was folding in frustration.

"Now, hold on, I'm sure it's been said before." She decided not to face him, that grin of his being more persuading than anything else.

"Think about it, Rae," he said simply. "The day our clocks stopped? No. When we graduated? No. When we got out first house? No. Our wedding day? No." And followed the succession that he was using Rachel whispered the next event.

"Our first time? The day that-" She said, about to state one of the most important of the days before she murmured under her breath her thought process being cut off, "We never said-" and stopped and at that she turned around meeting his eyes, now understanding his concern, it never needed to be voiced, it was just implied.

"Do you really love me, Rach?" He asked quietly and she thought about it. This was her husband, her best friend and confidant, the one person she could be her most mature and immature with. Why is that the words had never been spoke? Just simply assumed because of some watches. Love was serious. Love was…scary and they had always been so secure in their relationship. Love took all of a person and though Mike had all of Rachel and more, the word just never came to mind.

She looked now at his eyes, wrinkles creased at the corners from when he'd smiled so much, along much more prominent laugh lines that had developed over the years. This led to look at his lips, sure, sometimes they were chapped from the cold, or moist from just having a drink of water, but they were always perfect in her mind. Every kiss was different, yet experienced. He knew what she liked, knew what she enjoyed and most of all, he knew what she wanted. Overall, his face was more mature than she could recall. His hand took her's and she could feel the calluses worn in to his skin, rough from work, but still soft and gentle with her. How, after all these years, there was still a spark. There was still something that caused those butterflies to stir and deteriorate the cobwebs that should have collected in the pit of her stomach. He looked at her expectantly and she smiled, tears welling in her eyes and she could recall all of their memories together just from a glance at his face.

"I do. I love you more than…anything in the world." And it was odd, using it in the context of a person, especially him. It was just something that never needed to be said, but the word was so soft and sweet, and fell from her lips perfectly. It sent a warmth through her veins and she smiled, knowing it would be uttered much more frequently.

"And I love you." A simple kiss was exchanged, though you would believe much more would, because there was a slight interruption.

A child's scream was heard from outside, ear drum shattering scream at that and the couple winced, knowing they would never really get used to that noise around their house. Rachel look at her husband with a grin.

"You should go see what's wrong with your daughter," she said playfully and he smiled in return.

"What? So she's my daughter when she's screaming and crying but your's when she's winning competitions?" He asked and she shook her head.

"No, she's your daughter when she's does this." She paused, waiting for another sound from their daughter. "Hold on, it's coming, I promise," she waited one more second before her familiar voice came back into their hearing range.

"Daddy!


	5. Do You Think They'll Get It?

A/N: So, I had just a really brief idea for this story, which I honestly never thought I would revisit, but I am. You should check out my tumblr called "Cherry for the Soul" (cherryforthesoul(dot)tumblr(dot)com) which has updates on my stories which I can't post here, like when I will post new chapters, and you can direct requests and things to the ask box there.

Please enjoy and if you have the time, take a quick moment to review! Thank you! :)

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><p>Mike paced in the hallway of his home and his hand ran through his hair, tugging lightly in frustration. He was a happy man, had a great life, great wife, great kids. And his kids were getting older and he could tell, it was almost time for the talk. The most important talk. Rachel and him had decided to wait, tell both of their kids, Aaron and Stephanie, at the same time. The less times they had to attempt to explain it, the better. Sure, they both asked about it, but neither dwelled on it for more than a few conversation would start in awkward exchanges between him and Rachel, but they dissipated as the topic did.<p>

His wife walked out of their bedroom, hair pulled back in a lazy ponytail and he saw her, looking extremely beautiful still. They were only in their early thirties, but it felt like multiple lifetimes over and over with her. He met her eyes and a look of concern crossed her face as he noticed her husband's anxiety.

"Baby," she said in a comforting tone and walked to him, placing her hands on his cheeks and forcing him, gently, to keep looking at her. "Baby," she repeated, seeing the wrinkles across his forehead and pushed his hair back, allowing her thumb to slowly massage them away, his eyes dropping shut without a word. The reason for his stress was obvious, it had been a huge topic lately and she was worried as well. "We'll do fine." She assured him with a low voice.

"How do you know that?" He countered without a moment's hesitation, and he kept his eyes closed as she spoke, hand now tracing over his features gently.

"Because you're a great dad. And husband," she said quietly and he opened his mouth to speak. She cut him off with a firm kiss against his hardly parted lips. She held him there close in that kiss. "Shh," she murmured with her lips still tingling from the contact. He let out a small breath and then leaned into her, his hands going to her waist and pulling her closer.

"I think all credit for the kids is due to you," he said with a small smile, eyes opening to meet her's. Her hand snaked around to his neck and threaded her fingers through the hair at the hairline and placed another kiss on his lips.

"Without you, who would have exposed Aaron to race cars?" He laughed under his breath and she continued speaking. "Who would have taken Stephanie to the parent teacher meeting the day I had rehearsals? Who would have taught Aaron football or basketball? Or dancing?" She said with last suggestion with a small smirk, knowing he appreciated that the most. "If the kid's lives depended on me, they'd only be listening to Broadway," he nodded the slightest bit.

"Yeah, I guess you've got a point. Wouldn't want musically deprived kids, would we?" He asked with a grin and with her free hand she hit him on the arm, pulling away the slightest bit in shock.

"I'm nowhere near musically deprived. Just musically..." She paused, trying to pick the correct term for what she considered her playlists of strictly musicals for the most part, a new song leaking in every once in a while. "Strict." She stated and he nodded once more, placing a kiss playfully at her forehead.

"Yeah, I know, I know," he told her and then pulled her into a hug, one that was almost too tight to handle. Her arms completely wrapped around his neck and his head settled at the place one her shoulder he was used to fitting in.

"Don't worry." She said in a soothing, comforting, motherly tone.

"Do you think they'll get it?" He asked and turned his face, his lips meeting the skin of her neck. She closed her eyes and held him tightly. "Do you think they'll see how real it is, with us?" She smiled and replied surely.

"I know they will. I promise that they will. You're the only person that ever made me believe that the watches worked." She reminded him of the nights where so many times she'd questioned the purpose of the cool metal pressing at her wrist that was no longer there. They'd worn the watches for a while, until their parents found out, then there was no point. Everybody knew. He was so good at reminding her that the watches weren't what caused them to feel the way they did. That was something completely different.

"I am pretty good at that, huh?" He said with a cocky grin and pulled back from the hug, his grip only loosening a bit, her's still the same.

"You're great at it. Which is why, you will be doing most of the talking. And why every person on this block should be jealous you aren't the father of their children." She said with a proud smile, appreciating the fact that not only were her children the luckiest on the planet, but she was grateful to be his wife.

"Hmm, really? Well, anything for my beautiful wife." Even years later he knew he wouldn't get tired of that word. Or any of the words they now used since becoming more comfortable with each other. Babe. Wife. Husband. Love. Honey. Sweetheart. Whenever her lips uttered those words it felt better than the sweetest candy.

"Good." She took a deep breath and heard their kids starting a small argument over something in the next room. "Ready?" She asked and stepped out of his arms, reaching for just his hand and interlacing their fingers. He pulled her hand up to his lips and kissed each knuckle before placing a kiss on the back of her hand. Another squeal from their older daughter was heard and he smiled.

"As I'll ever be."


End file.
